Saskatoon issued record number of building permits

The federal government has confirmed it will play a long-term role in affordable housing, ending several years of uncertainty over whether Ottawa would continue helping low-income families pay for their accommodation.

Saskatoon continues to boom with a record number of building permits issued in 2011. And the city is in no shape to slow down, with numbers predicting another record breaking year in 2012.

The number of permits issued for residential and commercial building has seen a large increase. One of the biggest differences from last year has been the number of single family dwellings being built, especially in areas like Evergreen, Stonebridge and Rosewood.

According to the Saskatoon's monthly building permit report, the value of this year's construction is almost $200 million ahead of where it was last July.

Bob Baran, with the city, says if this pace continues, which they expect it will, this year's construction value will exceed $1 billion.

"80 per cent of the value of construction that we are experiencing right now in Saskatoon is through private development. So for Saskatoon, that basically means that there is confidence in the private sector to continue constructing at the pace they are."